1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus for holding trash bags and allowing the trash bags to be filled with trash.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
A preliminary search conducted in class 248, subclasses 97, 98, and 99 disclosed the following patents:
Yaggy, U.S. Pat. No. 76,686. Yaggy discloses a device for holding bags open and in an upright position, to enable the bag to be readily filled with grain. The Yaggy device includes a vertical post having a first ring firmly secured in a horizontal position on the upper end thereof, and having a second ring pivotally attached to the upper end thereof. The mouth of a bag is clamped between the first and second rings to thereby hold the bag in an opened, upright position.
Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 247,220. Smith discloses a device for use in filling and transporting bags and sacks. The device includes a generally vertical frame rollably supported by wheels. A ring is attached in a horizontal position to the upper end of the frame and a hopper is hinged to the frame for clamping the mouth of the bag to the frame.
Barker et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,172,529 discloses a bag holder. The Barker bag holder includes a vertical standard having a horizontal bar adjustably mounted thereon. A hopper for fitting within the mouth of a bag to be filled is resiliently attached to the horizontal bar.
Chamberlain, U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,956. Chamberlain discloses a holder for holding a thin-walled bag such as a freezer bag in a position for easy filling. The Chamberlain bag holder includes a generally tubular, open ended bag support member and a funnel-like member which press-fits around the upper rim of the bag support member. The funnel member includes a chute that leads into the interior of a bag that is clamped between the funnel and the support.
Pravettone, U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,728. Pravettone discloses a combination dust pan and refuse container made up of a framework which distends and substantially encloses a conventional disposable trash bag, and a dust pan which depends outwardly from the frame near the mouth of the bag.
Buckley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,158. Buckley discloses a utility stand for supporting a trash bag in an upright manner with its top open to receive trash. The Buckley stand includes a frame member including a bag attachment section and four leg members, a platform attached to and supported by the legs below the bag attachment section for supporting the bottom of the trash bag, a chute member pivotably attached to the frame, and a lid carried by the chute member for selectively closing the trash bag.
Lamy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,171. Lamy discloses a device for maneuvering large capacity bags filled with powdered or granular materials. The Lamy device includes at least four hollow, intersecting tubes for receiving the fork elements of a forklift truck and for being attached to the straps of a bag.
Nothing in the above patents discloses or suggests the present invention. More specifically, nothing in the above patents discloses or suggests an apparatus including base means having an opening therethrough for allowing the body portion of a trash bag to extend therethrough and having a lip adjacent the opening for allowing the opened end of the body portion of the trash bag to be folded there over; and funnel means having an opened first end for being positioned within the hollow body portion of the trash bag and within the opening of the base means and having an opened second end, the funnel means having a passageway extending between the first and second ends thereof for allowing trash inserted into the second end to pass therethrough into the hollow body portion of the trash bag, the cross-sectional area of the passageway at the second end of the funnel means being larger than the cross-sectional area of the passageway at the first end of the funnel means and larger than the cross-sectional area of the opened end of the body portion of the trash bag.